Things were getting out of hand. Angie was like a parasite slowly but surely taking over his body and mind. There wasn't one moments in which Tom didn't think about her and try to figure out some way to surprise her, make her smile, keep her happy.

He only wished she'd stop hiding from him and tell him what bothered her. Why she went from hot to cold so fast. Why she still felt like he could be any danger to her.

She was taking up so much of his time, his classes were a blur, his homework a confusing mess and his latest tests... well, a lucky string of fortunate events, because he'd never been less focused in his life.

Even Billy had noticed how screwed up he was. But his best friend only grinned like a maniac and asked if he could be best man at their wedding. For some reason, Billy really seemed to like Angie, even if he spent very little time with her.

Then there was the dancing issue. After letting Angie practically grope him, she'd loosened up and their practice sessions were going great. Dancing wise. They only got him hot and bothered and it was so hard to keep away from her and not kiss her and run his hands all over her. He didn't think he'd ever wanted anything more in his life. But she wanted to take it slow and he'd respect her wish. Hell, he'd do anything to keep her around.

But were they dating now? Was Angie his girlfriend? Did he have the right to kiss her? He had absolutely no idea.

"Dude, are you paying attention?" Mizrelle asked, snapping her fingers in front of his face.

"Huh? Obviously not."

"Snap out of it. Zis is important." She took in a deep, exasperated breath. "You are right. The fraternity does provide food and shelter and all sorts of supplies. But getting in is not eeasy and it comes with a price."

"Like what?" he asked, shoving Angie into a corner of his mind.

"Once you're in, you're in for good. No leaving, no changing your mind."

He shrugged. "It's not like Jimmy and I have anywhere else to go."

"When you find the place, you have to ask for the test. Or they shoot you. Seriously now," she said, pushing his shoulder because he'd started laughing. "I'm talking about real guns, little boy."

"Isn't that a tad overdramatic?"

"A tad or not, it is how it is. Then you must take the tests. There are three. Cooperation, street smarts and self defense. I can't tell you more."

Tom rubbed the back of his head. That didn't sound too bad. Street smarts he did have, Mizrelle wouldn't have approached him otherwise. He'd just ask Jimmy to teach him how to fight better and cooperation couldn't be that hard.

"Again, once you're in, you don't get out."

"You're out."

Mizrelle puffed her chest. "I'm an ambassador. We get out."

That was great. Jimmy could be an ambassador and maybe go to college. "So to find the place,  I have to be on the lookout for specific graffiti."

She nodded. "I can't tell you what it is, but you'll know it when you see it. It always points underground. For instance, in Paris, where I come from, if you go to the Opera subway station, you find the graffiti on the tracks."

"That sounds crazy dangerous."

She grinned. "No one said it would be eeasy."

"Easy's boring anyway."

"That's why I think you'll fit right in." Mizrelle nudged his shoulder with hers.

He nudged her back. He had to admit he liked her. She was fun and mysterious and French. Though he was not a big fan of the way she was looking at him with those puppy dog eyes.

"So, if Jimmy and I both come, do we get like a discount or something?"

She giggled. "No, but you can take the tests together. An individual one and a common one. Saves time and can get an uninitiated member in."

That sounded groovy because Tom doubted Jimmy would have the time and patience to get into this whole fraternity protocol. As he thought things over, his eyes drifted into the distance and fell on Angie who was coming down the stairs towards them. His heart sank. Joining the fraternity might be the end of their relationship, especially if Angie got into college.

"Can we get other people in?" he asked absentmindedly.

Mizrelle followed his gaze and frowned. "Really? The boring school girl?"

"It's a totally hypothetical question."

"Hmpf, sure. Hypothetical. Yes, you can get your girl or guy in as long as they follow the rules." Mizrelle hopped off the wall. "But think about it a little. You're too good for her, Tommy."

"In what universe am I too good for anyone?" Especially Angie.

She smiled, but it was strained. "In mine. Catch you later, darling." And with a light wave of her hand, she walked away.

Just as well, because Angie reached him, a confused frown on her face. "Who was that?"

"Mizrelle." He slid off the wall, too, but didn't come any closer in case Angie decided to get pissed at him. "She's French. Foreign exchange." He bit his lip but decided not to tell her about the fraternity. Not until he made up his mind and talked to Jimmy.

"Huh. Interesting outfit. And hair." Angie looked curious now rather than annoyed so he wrapped an arm around her and gave her a half hug.

"What's up?"

Her green eyes focused on him and he felt much bigger and more important than he was. "Just wanted to let you know that I'll have to bolt early tomorrow. I'm going home for Christmas and I have a bus to catch."

Oh, right, Christmas. It wasn't a big deal to him since he was a starving orphan and shit, but families really cared for that stuff. And now,  suddenly, so did he. Because he really, really, really wanted to get her something. As small and as trivial as it was.

"That sounds cool." Fortunately, his voice came out joyful and not depressed as fuck.

She smiled, her eyes crinkling adorably. "I think I might miss you."

"Really? It's just two weeks." He was going to die without her. Drop dead and just start smelling. Or maybe he'll hibernate like a bear until she came back.

She rubbed the back of her head, seeming embarrassed. "I guess so."

"I'm still totally probably going to miss you, too."

She smiled again and he squeezed her against him, wishing he could spend Christmas with her. It would be the first time Christmas would actually mean something.

"Gotta go. See you tomorrow." And like she'd been doing ever since he gave her that pathetic dandelion, she raised on the tips of her toes and kissed him on the cheek. It still warmed him up, every time. Every damn time, like he was twelve and she was eleven and they were kids in a schoolyard.

They were in a schoolyard, but he'd lost his childhood long ago. And as he kissed her cheek in return, he wished he could figure out what they were. Because he wasn't sure how much longer hugging and kissing on the cheek was going to do it for him. She seemed happy enough, but his mind was starting to devise evil plans for a perfect first kiss.

It needed to be really fucking romantic. Christmas would've been a good time, but since she was leaving...

"Bye." Angie let him go and walked away.

Tom watched her departing, wondering why he was so different with her. He didn't give a shit about his first kiss with Gina. Or Bella. Why was Angie any different?

Speaking of insufferable exes... The smell of cigarette smoke had his nose scrunching. Gina stopped next to him, ashing her Virgina Slim.

"Huh," she said, taking another drag. "So that's who you're cheating on me with."

Tom sighed annoyed. "We broke up a million ages ago. We've spent like triple the time not together than together. "

"That's stupid."

Not the only thing that was stupid. "What do you want?"

"Her ass is big."

Angie's ass was awesome. He loved the curve of it, especially how she moved it when she danced, but he wasn't going to waste his breath on Gina. "Yeah, whatever you say, anorexic Annie."

Gina frowned. "My name's not Annie."

Lord, give me patience. "I know."

"So..." She fortunately threw the cigarette away. "You in a relationship with her or what?"

"Sort of. Now will you leave me alone?"

"Does she know everything about you, then?" she asked interested and Tom froze. This was an unexpectedly devious question for Gina. "Or are you fucking her for food or something?"

Tom's vision turned red. His hands twitched and he clenched his fists, trying to control himself. If Gina were a guy, her teeth would be littering the sidewalk by now. "Oh, yes," he said, his voice blank. "That's my MO, after all. Fuck them for food and money. Like I did with you, Bella, Mizrelle and any other chick who would look my way. It's so much fun." Ugh, what was he doing? The sarcasm was totally lost on Gina. But even she could tell it was a lie because he'd never slept with her.

Gina frowned in confusion. "What's an MO?"

For fuck's sake, really? "Modus operandi."

She stared blankly at him.

"The way I do stuff. God!" He turned and walked away. He was so done with her shit.

🎄🎄🎄

Tom had finally found Angie a Christmas present he could afford. It was lame and tacky, and nowhere near what she really deserved, but he'd found a black beaded bracelet with an intricate, colorful floral pattern that went around it.

It actually looked all vintage and cool, even if it tied up with string. He really hoped she liked it. Enough to maybe give him a little something for Christmas. Like a kiss on the mouth.

You pathetic moron. You think you're going to buy her off? Truth was, he wasn't even trying. All he wanted was a chance to make it romantic. Money never meant anything to him except a resource he unfortunately needed. And he suspected Angie felt the same. Or at least he hoped or he was screwed.

As he waited for her in the studio, his mind played over a million scenarios of how this could go. All he needed was five minutes to give her the small parcel and wish her Merry Christmas. She'll be happy and hug him and when she'd pull back, he'd just kiss her and that was that. Then, they'd dance.

No, that wasn't right. It actually made more sense to give it to her before she left. They'd already be in the intimate mood because of the dancing. Yeah, that sounded like a much better idea.

"Hey." Angie waved her hand in front of his face. "Earth to Tom. Are you ready to start?"

He jumped and looked up at her. He'd totally zoned out. He scrambled to his feet. "Yeah, sure." And he rushed to turn the music on.

Their dancing had improved dramatically. Which was just great since half their rehearsal time was up. They'd added a lot of new steps and even each had a short individual number. His revolved around a few break dancing tricks and walking on his hands while Angie had come up with a hypnotic way to move her hips that he simply loved. And the best part was that her initial discomfort was gone. She could focus, spot her mistakes, suggest improvements... She could dance face to face with him.

Now was no different. She was on fire, twirling, shaking, stepping in all the right places. And he couldn't take his eyes off her. Thank God for the sunglasses. He could stare at her all he wanted without making her feel uncomfortable.

Much too soon, she stopped, panting. "I have to go take a shower or I'll miss my bus."

Tom nodded, trying to block out all images of Angie in the shower. "That's okay. Before you go, I--"

Her face lightened up as her gaze moved past him. "Hi, Billy."

What? Tom whipped around to see his best friend standing in the doorway, his mouth hanging open.

"You two are amazing!" He hopped towards them and Tom felt himself dying a little inside. "You'll surely win with that number."

"And we're not even done yet," she said joyfully. "I gotta run. Tom, was there something..." Her voice trailed off and she tilted her head.

Fuck. Well, that plan went to shit. With a defeated sigh, he took the bracelet out of his backpack and handed it to her. "It's not much, but merry Christmas."

Angie's eyes widened as she took it out and stared at it. "It's so pretty. But I didn't get you anything."

"That's okay." He tied it around her wrist when she reached it out, glad that she at least seemed to like it. "It's not a big deal anyway."

"It is to me," she whispered, turning it over to have a better look. Then, out of the blue, she jumped into his arms and hugged him tightly.

And it was just like in his daydreams. He could feel the heat of her body, her shallow breathing, his heart picking up the pace. And all he wanted was to find out if her mouth was just as hot. But he couldn't kiss her. Not with Billy smiling over them like a benevolent aunt. Not for the first time.

So they broke apart, Angie gave him a lingering kiss on the cheek, much closer to the mouth than usual and scampered off. And he was strangely satisfied. Because something did change and maybe, just maybe, the new year will bring more to their relationship.

"You two are beyond cute," Billy said, clasping Tom's shoulder.

"Thanks." Tom had no idea if he wanted to hug Billy or punch him in the face. "What are you doing here anyway?"

"Wanted to give you this." Billy took out a key and handed it to his friend. "It's the key to my house. I left Christmas dinner in the pantry."

Tom's eyes widened. "What? No, I can't take this." He tried to push the key back to Billy but he skirted out of the way.

"No, seriously, take it. Rosa made this incredible meal and his highness decided we're going to Chicago for Christmas. It would be such a waste."

"Damn, you're leaving, too."

Billy nodded, seeming less than happy. "I would say I'll miss you, but I'm going to that cousin who looks exactly like you so..." He shrugged.

Tom huffed. Billy and his crazy clone story about his cousin. "I'll miss you."

"Me too." Billy sighed, gave him a hug and walked out the door.

Tom looked at the key in his hand. Billy trusted him way too much, but he wasn't about to complain. Not when good food could go to waste. At least he and Jimmy could have a few decent meals. If he'd only known earlier, he could've made Angie a lunch pack for the road.

Ugh, what is it with you and this girl? The obvious answer punched him straight in the face. Maybe, somewhere along the way, he'd fallen in love with her.

🔱🔱🔱

Soooo...thoughts? Theories? Complaints? Liking the story? Hating the story? Where will it go from here? Will the fact that Tom might have realized how he's feeling making it less annoying?

This has been an incredibly smooth ride so far. Where do you think I'm taking this?

How about Mizrelle? And Gina? Any thoughts on Billy?

God, I'm annoying with all the questions. Never you mind. Now sacrifice me a small goat! I need blood!